


Secret identities and heroic idiots

by flaminpumpkin



Series: Batlantern Week [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Green Lantern - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Civilian Bruce Wayne, Established Relationship, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Identity Reveal, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 13:15:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29999895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flaminpumpkin/pseuds/flaminpumpkin
Summary: Power levels 0%. System shutting down.“No wait!” Hal exclaimed, snapping back to reality.Too late, unfortunately.He landed in a heap of limbs, flailing gracelessly, and… No trees nor grass? Before losing himself in his own thoughts, he had been flying toward a small clearing. Right? Why did the floor feel so hard and cold under him?
Relationships: Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne
Series: Batlantern Week [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199015
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74
Collections: Batlantern Week





	Secret identities and heroic idiots

**Author's Note:**

> Batlantern Week day 6: Civilian/Superhero AU
> 
> I really had fun writing this one so I hope you enjoy ^^

_Power levels 1%._

“Oh, fuck me,” Hal grumbled frustratingly under his breath, eyes scanning the area for a place where he could make an emergency landing in peace; somewhere with no trees, like maybe a clearing.

He had just entered the atmosphere, somewhere above the east coast, when his ring had alerted him of its already low power level. He hadn’t had enough juice to speed his way to Coast and Gotham had been the closest city he knew of with zeta tubes so the decision had been taken quickly. At the very least, he would be able to be home in no time after crashing in a hotel for the night.

 _Thanks the League and thanks mister Wayne_ , he thought with a little smirk as the image of the blue eyed beauty that was the Justice League’s benefactor popped in his mind. Maybe he would ask him to meet up before going back to Coast City instead of waiting a few days. He wanted to see him. Desperately.

He could still remember Bruce’s words from the last time he had seen him after an impromptu rescue mission in Gotham, right before being called on an assignment on the other side of the galaxy.

“ _Sorry, Lantern. But I am a committed man_ ,” he had said with a look that had left no room for argument after Hal had flirted with him.

Jealousy hadn’t even waited for the other man to leave to show its ugly little head. Because there had been no doubt in Hal’s mind that he wasn’t the person Bruce had said he was committed to. He might have qualified what they’d had as serious but he had known it wasn’t by anyone else’s standards.

 _He probably found someone else_ , he had thought, jaw tightening. Someone he could see more often. Someone who wouldn’t disappear without an explanation for long periods of time and reappear all of a sudden like nothing had happened. It had left a bitter taste in his mouth but Hal was a good man who knew when to back off – even if Bruce had no idea who he really was – so he had just pouted exaggeratedly to hide the hurt, tilting his head and jutting his hip.

“ _Such a shame, Mister Wayne_ ,” he had drawled teasingly with a shrug. “ _I could’ve taken you flying._ ”

“ _Well, not that you need to know this but he’s a pilot,”_ he had demurred in the same tone of voice, one eyebrow quirked up, and Hal couldn’t have imagined the way the other man’s chest had puffed up with pride. _“So if I ever want to go for a ride, I will ask_ him _._ ”

That had effectively shut him up until Wayne’s departure. Actually, he hadn’t talked for so long, just standing there with a vacant expression on his face, that the medics on the scene had asked him if he needed a check-up. But once the initial shock had passed, Hal hadn’t been able to keep the cheek splitting grin from stretching his lips. Because Hal actually _was_ that pilot Bruce had mentioned being committed to. Which meant their relationship was as important to Bruce as it was for him despite how complicated and rather weird it was.

They had met over three years ago at a gala in Coast City. Hal had been attending it with Carol because she needed him to “ _charm Wayne with his pretty face so they could collaborate on that new site on the east coast_ ”. Hal would say he had been pretty successful that night. Carol had left with a deal and he, with the phone number of the sexiest billionaire alive.

It hadn’t been anything serious at first. There had been no way for him to allow himself to get into a relationship given his job with the Corp and the way he sometimes had to disappear without a word for weeks or even months on end. As much to protect himself as to avoid hurting the other.

Despite that, Bruce… Bruce hadn’t even batted an eye at his repeated absences, always answering Hal calls with a sweet, sweet voice and flirty words. In retrospect, it wasn’t really surprising. Bruce Wayne’s life was as hectic as his was. Between being the CEO of such an enormous conglomerate and a single father of – how many was it again? – six, he didn’t have that much free time either.

But they were lucky enough to find some time to see each other every once in a while. It had been easier when Hal had started to make regular trips to Gotham’s branch of Ferris Aircraft for Carol, though.

Things between them had evolved in the most natural way from then on and Hal had let it happen, too happy to have some bits of normalcy in his otherwise crazy life to fuck it up.

Bruce had let go bit by bit of his public persona around Hal too, allowing him to see beyond the airhead billionaire mask. Bruce and Brucie, he had learned rather quickly, were two completely different people. Brucie was a bit of an idiot and a klutz, loud and attention seeking, whereas Bruce was actually a lot quieter and sometimes aloof. A sarcastic, quick witted asshole on par with Hal who would also let himself be bullied by his two oldest sons into taking them to the amusement park just to hear them laugh or panic and feel guilty because he was late for his daughter’s recital.

Seeing him switch personalities for the first time had given Hal whiplash but having a double life himself, he could understand. Hal wore a mask to protect the ones he loved. He guessed it was kind of the same for Bruce, on a less dangerous level.

In spite of all that, everything was damn near perfect if you asked Hal. That was why he had been wanting to tell Bruce about Green Lantern and the Corps. What the man had said to him the last time he had seen him had just made him even more convinced that it was the right thing to do. Bruce was admitting to people he was in a relationship with him, the least he could do for the man was let him know exactly what he was signing up for.

 _Power levels 0%. System shutting down_.

“No wait!” Hal exclaimed, snapping back to reality.

Too late, unfortunately.

He landed in a heap of limbs, flailing gracelessly, and… No trees nor grass? Before losing himself in his own thoughts, he had been flying toward a small clearing. Right? Why did the floor feel so hard and cold under him?

A quick check-up of his surroundings made it clear that it was because he had just landed, really loudly might he had, on someone’s balcony. And not just anyone’s balcony if the neatly kept garden and humongous swimming pool were anything to go by. He knew exactly who that manor – castle, really, at this point – with a nice view on Gotham City belonged to.

“Hal?”

The pilot scrambled to his feet at the sound of this deep voice he knew oh so well, groaning in pain when he felt a jolt of electricity travel up his arm, making his shoulder tense in a slightly alarming way. He’d had worse but he definitely needed to get that checked as soon as possible. Once he got himself out of this seriously embarrassing situation.

Bruce was standing barefoot on the threshold of the French doors leading to what Hal assumed was the master bedroom – he had never been to the manor, the both of them always meeting at Bruce’s penthouse in Downtown Gotham. He was dressed only in a pair of sweat pants riding criminally low on his hips and reading glasses. The pilot would have spent some more time staring at the work of art in front of him if only he hadn’t been irrationally panicking.

“Bruce!” he said with so much fake enthusiasm his own ears felt like bleeding “Hey! How are you doing?”

Hal cringed internally. _Really?_

Bruce staring worryingly at him and pinching his lips together was the only response he got. If only the floor had opened under him and swallowed him whole, he would have gladly welcomed the opportunity. But as it was, the floor staying stubbornly closed under his feet, he would have to deal.

“Can’t really get myself out of this one, huh?” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head nervously when Bruce kept staring at him silently. “Look-”

He was interrupted by the other man raising a hand, effectively silencing the pilot as he heaved a sigh, rubbing at his forehead.

“You’re right. There really isn’t any way you could justify the bright flash of green light I just saw but Hal, please, just come inside. You look exhausted.”

“No, Bruce, wait. Please.”

The hand that had been about to grab his stopped mid-air, hesitating, but Hal hastily took hold of it when it began to retreat, squeezing it with all he had.

This really wasn’t how he had wanted to tell Bruce. He had planned everything in his head, down to the very words he wanted to say. He had aimed to bring it up slowly and ease the news on Bruce but because of this habit he had off spacing out the moment he was back Earth-side, the entire conversation had been dumped on both of them as inelegantly as Hal had landed earlier

“I would understand if this is a deal breaker,” he started, taking a step towards Bruce, relieved when the man didn’t try to walk away, pulling him in even.

It spurred him on. It was a good sign.

“With your kids and all, it’d be fair if you wanted to keep them away from this life.”

Bruce pinched his lips together again, looking like he was carefully choosing the words he was about to say which, Hal had learned, was never a good sign. The billionaire was honest to a fault, sometimes way too blunt for his own good. Him being cautious was worrying at best.

“Hal,” he began, paused for a while, and then shook his head with a sigh, stilling himself. “I’ve known about you being Green Lantern for quite some time now.”

Wait.

Stop, rewind, replay.

_What?_

“What?”

Hal couldn’t have heard that right.

“I’ve known for a while,” Bruce repeated.

Ah yes, he actually had heard that right.

“How?!” he screeched.

The other man scrunched up his nose a bit – one more thing on the unending list of things Damian had inherited from him – and pursed his lips, looking exasperated as all hell all of a sudden. He rolled his eyes before fixing Hal with the most unimpressed stare mankind had ever known.

“Putting aside the fact that I’ve had regular meetings with the Justice League for nearly a decade now, which meant I knew exactly who you were the first time I saw you at that gala, we’ve known each other personally for three years now, Harold Jordan,” (And oh, he didn’t just pull the full name card now, did he? This was probably how his kids felt like when he scolded them.) “I’ve seen you completely naked, for crying out loud. Did you really think something hiding your _cheekbones_ was going to keep me from guessing who you are? You don’t even change the way you speak or act.”

Now that Bruce had said it, Hal could see the flaws in it. He clearly hadn’t been as careful about his true identity as he ought to. Or maybe it was just Bruce’s brain being several steps ahead of everyone else’s, like it seemed to be most of the time.

“Well, when you put it that way…”

“Why do you think I was always so relieved when you called?” Bruce asked in an exasperated voice, his free hand coming to graze Hal’s forehead where he could already feel a bump starting to form.

“I thought you were flirting with me,” Hal grumbled back with a pout because he hadn’t been _that_ blind.

Bruce’s eyes said another story.

“You are denser than a rock, Jordan,” he deadpanned.

Well, maybe Bruce was right. Again. He had sounded pretty relieved every time Hal had called him after coming back from a mission but the pilot had put it aside because he had thought there was no way for the other man to know about his secret. Obviously, he had been wrong.

But now that he thought about it, if Bruce had known for so long, why hadn’t he said anything? They could have avoided having this conversation, or at least make it happen a lot sooner, and Hal wouldn’t have had to worry about Bruce rejecting him after learning about his secret.

So he asked, leaning into the hand that was now cupping the side of his head, exhaling deeply at the feeling of a thumb stroking his temple gently.

“But why didn’t you say anything? About knowing.”

The other man stayed silent for a few seconds, once again choosing his words carefully.

“Because I wanted to leave that choice to you,” Bruce admitted. “You telling me about Green Lantern would’ve meant you trusted me and that is something I wanted more than anything. For you to trust me with your secret.”

His eyes glanced somewhere to the side, almost like he was ashamed of wanting something from Hal, making the man pinch his lips. How could someone so selfless, who constantly gave, be ashamed of wanting something for himself for once?

Hal cupped his face between his cold hands, forcing Bruce’s blue eyes to meet his.

“How are you this perfect?” the pilot whispered, baffled by the way the other man seemed to feel bad for literally just desiring something as simple as his trust. “And I do trust you, by the way. I’ve been meaning to tell you after that rescue mission but the Corps called and, well, you guess what happened. Had to go save the galaxy.”

He gave the other man a cocky smirk, just because he could, earning himself a disbelieving huff before Bruce murmured something that sounded a lot like “come here”. Hal let himself be beckoned closer until their lips pressed together in a tender kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around the slightly shorter man’s waist, reveling in the way Bruce’s warm body felt against him.

It felt good, comforting, and the idea that he would be able to keep this, that he would be able to feel this again, it made his heart soar in his chest.

“So you’re really not averse to keep dating me?” Hal asked in a hushed voice, pulling away just enough so he could pepper light kisses all over Bruce’s face.

“Hal, if I had been, I wouldn’t even have let you anywhere near my children. You know that.”

Hal did in fact know that. Bruce was fiercely protective of his family and him letting the pilot meet all of his kids had been a huge demonstration of trust. Hal had done his best to prove he was worthy of it. And, to be completely honest, he loved Bruce’s kids. He couldn’t affirm for certain that they did in return but he got along with all of them. Even Damian, who had been rather cold and borderline hostile at first.

“It makes me wonder, though,” he started again, kissing Bruce one last time on the tip of his nose before leaning further away to lock eyes with him. “If I’m so bad at protecting my identity, why would you let your family hang out with me?”

Hal looked at him attentively. It was a genuine question but the other man let out another exasperated sigh – it seemed to be his default emotion today – before taking a step back, pulling Hal along with him inside.

“I did not say you were bad at it, I said it was obvious to me,” Bruce corrected. “I’ve always been good with puzzles. But if you feel this bad about me figuring out who you are, just know that your identity is not the only one I know of.”

The complacent little smirk on his face really didn’t make Hal feel any better. They were going to need to have a discussion about security during the next League meeting.

“Seriously? Who?”

“Superman.”

“No, you don’t,” the pilot countered, almost affronted, because Clark’s identity was one of the best guarded secret around.

Not even Diana’s lasso could make him reveal it. All they had managed to get out of him that one time they had to use it on him was his kryptonian name.

“Clark and I have been friends for years now, actually,” the other man added, incredibly smug and the mention of his friend’s civilian name made Hal pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Jesus…”

Bruce hummed in answer, gingerly removing Hal’s jacket for him, folding it and putting it on a chair nearby before guiding him further into the room.

“I know about Green Arrow and Flash too.”

“You gotta be kidding me! How?”

“Well, Oliver and I grew up in the same circles. We’ve known each other for decades. As for Flash,” Bruce then threw himself into an explanation worthy of a Sherlock Holmes novel, all the while leading Hal towards the bathroom.

They ended up taking a bath in the middle of the night, talking about secret identities and heroic idiots who should know better.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated, whether here or on my other social medias (twitter: @Dpressedpumpkin or tumblr: @flaminpumpkin)


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